A Different Take on Things
by Chuffi4Harmony
Summary: Hi again! So, I know I'm not the best at summaries, and if you can't judge a book by it's cover, then you can't judge a fanfiction by its summary. So, I know this has been 1000 times, but what if Ron hadn't come back? Find out with a single click...
1. Chapter 1

Well, I read in an interview and also in other fanfics that J.K. Rowling (who owns HP not me :( and those of you who didn't know who J.K. Rowling is should clear off now! Na just kidding, but seriously, go away and come back when you read all the books and watched all the movies multiple times!) Anyways, Jo said (in other words that the Harmony fans tend to warp to say this) that if Ron didn't come back when he did, Harry would've fallen for Hermione (guilty of the warping but at least I can admit it!) so here is my take on things:

Normal POV:  
>P.S.: Sorry I've forgotten to work on my 2 other fics so I'll have those up a.s.a.p. and I will also finish The Harm an Unfinished Sentence Can Do, sorry this just hit me and this bunny wasn't soft and fluffy like the others that would wait till I had time. Nope. This bunny was either killer rabbit or a blast ended skrewt in disguise. BTW: SHOUTOUT TO HAGRID AND ALL THE CROSSBRED MONSTERS THAT HE HAS NAMED BLAST ENDED SKREWTS! On with the story:<br>Again, Normal POV:  
>P.P.S.: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!<br>Sorry, AGAIN, Normal POV:  
>On with the story:<p>

Harry began to bang desperately on the hard ice above him, in a last attempt to be heard, to be rescued, but after a few moments, the surface of the pool stopped bubbling and the tapping stemmed. There was silence. And then a splash.  
>A half a minute later, a sopping wet Hermione dragged a dead-looking Harry out of the pond. She was spluttering and gasping for air. She shoved Harry none to gently to awaken him, but he didn't respond. She choked up what looked like at least a gallon of water in one cough and tried to say his name.<br>Harry finally rolled over. Water gushing out of his mouth, he almost passed out from lack of oxygen.  
>"Harry?" Hermione said weakly.<br>"Hermione? Is that you?" He asked hoarsely.  
>"Yeah," She said in reply, hardly able to breathe.<br>They sat in silence for a few moments, both trying to catch their breath. Hermione pulled the sword into her hands and passed it to Harry wordlessly. He nodded and set it aside for a moment, pulling the locket from the pile of clothing. Coming to his senses, he realized he was nearly naked in front of his best friend. He jumped to his feet, blushing furiously, and pulled on his jeans and threw his shirts and many sweatshirts and jackets over his head. He was still shivering though, and so was she, but even more violently.  
>Taking pity on her, he conjured a blanket and held it out to her, along with his newly dried hand to help her to her feet. She seemed having an even harder time breathing than he was when he first awoke. Instinctively, he smacked her on the back. The effect was instantaneous. She spit up a huge amount of water along with probably everything she'd eaten in the past fortnight, which was precious little. When he looked at her, he noticed she looked unnaturally pale and a lot thinner than she had been before, to the point of appearing sickly. He frowned.<br>Harry patted her softly a few times on the shoulder and she moaned. She just now noticed the blanket he was offering and took it gratefully, still shaking. He found it must've been colder to be in freezing cold clothes than damp ones.  
>"Are you OK? Are you sure you can breathe all right?" He asked concernedly. She nodded and smiled a bit.<br>"Can't swim," She murmured. He was shocked. She had dunked herself in the water to save his own life when she could've died in the process. She was still shivering and coughing, and when she breathed it sounded as though a person with an extremely bad lung infection had just ran a marathon. Feeling like she needed it more than he did, he pulled of the top and warmest layer of his many coverings and gave it to her. She looked at him with a look that quite plainly said, "Are you sure?" He nodded, and she pulled it over her own head and her shivers were stifled.  
>He clapped her on the back once more, and this time she turned a bit blue. Panicking, he ran behind her to do that thing Uncle Vernon had done to Dudley once, (he had forgotten what it was called) but he had the sense to hit her again and she puked what was left of the water in her lungs. He felt terrible for her as she sank weakly onto the ground. He squatted down next to her and offered to help her to her feet again. She shook her head, and he hugged her. She rested her head in the crook of his neck, and he pulled her into a standing position.<br>After a minute or two, she regained her strength and let go of him. For some reason, it seemed to get a bit colder for both of them. She was the first to break the silence.  
>"So how are we going to destroy it?"<br>"_You're_ going to destroy it," He said calmly in response.  
>"<em>What?<em>" Hermione squealed.  
>"I have a feeling it's supposed to be you, you know, because you were the one who got the sword in the first place." He explained. After about a minute of "C'mon, 'Mione,"s on Harry's part, Hermione finally (and quite reluctantly) agreed.<br>As though he had known to do this for ages, Harry stood before the locket and hissed in parseltongue. It opened with a small click and for a split second, the both of them stood staring at it. But the problem was, it was only for a split second. The locket spit out to bubbles that morphed and distorted until they had formed strange versions of Harry and Ron. They were handsomer than the real ones, but yet more terrible. They spoke in the voice of Voldemort, which knocked Harry out of his reverie, however unfortunately it did nothing but cause Hermione to cower away.  
>"Stab it!" Harry bellowed, but it was as though he wasn't there. Then again, he was talking over himself.<br>"We don't need you. We can kill these things on our own. You're nothing to me. Always an insignificant know-it-all." It jeered.  
>"I wasn't angry at Harry when I left; I wanted to get away from you and your annoying insecurities." Voldemort-Ron said.<br>"I hate the mere sight of you. Get lost, Mudblood." Harry-Voldemort said. Hermione was now crying and shaking uncontrollably, as far away as she could possibly get from that locket, her back against the tree.  
>"Hermione, it's not real! None of it is real! Kill it! Kill it and it'll all go away, I promise!" Harry tried to comfort her, but she had curled up in a little ball and had dropped the sword. He ran towards her but stopped halfway. He turned to see what the locket was doing, because they had stopped insulting her, and he saw himself dead, covered in blood on tile flooring, Voldemort laughing next to him.<br>"Hermione, KILL IT!" He screamed in a last attempt and she ran forward, the sword in hand, just as the image was getting larger, ready to consume her. She stabbed it just in time. There was a terrible scream, and with that, the locket was gone.  
>Harry turned to face her, and he felt his heart break to see her, completely terrified, shaking as though someone invisible was cruciating her (but only worse) and crying harder than he'd ever seen anyone ever cry. He went over to her and was about to pull her up, but he stopped.<br>She doesn't look like she'd be able to walk, he thought. But, he still tried. He tapped her lightly on the shoulder and jumped to her front side to see her face. Tears were running nonstop down her face, her eyes filled with terror.  
>"Hermione?" Harry said gently. Hearing his voice, she began to panic.<br>"Hermione, none of it was real! I'm right here! I'm alive and I don't hate the sight of you!" She wasn't listening to him, however. On the contrary, she was screaming at the top of her lungs and sliding away from him franticly. As though he had known to do it all along and he'd just been stalling for some reason, he grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She immediately ceased her shrieking, but after just a moment, she fainted.

Dun dun dun! What happened to Hermione? Find out in chapter 2! And about The Harm an Unfinished Sentence Can Do, I am NOT discontinuing, I just want to get this up and I also want to get the other 2 fics up which are as of now just plots in my head (don't kill me) that I still need to write. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! But no flames!


	2. Chapter 2

Oh my GOD! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME! That is more reviews than I've ever gotten in such a short period of time. THANK YOU! I'll talk more at the end, but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!  
>Normal POV:<br>"Hermione?" Harry said worriedly. No response.  
>"Hermione?" He tried again anxiously. Again, she didn't show any signs that she was even alive. He took her wrist in his hands to check her pulse, attempting to remain calm. It was there, which relieved him greatly. He felt a warm blow of comforting air flow through his whole body even in the freezing cold to know she was at least breathing normally.<br>He gathered her limp form in his arms and apparated the both of them back to the tent. He lay her down softly and gently on her bunk and checked for a fever. She didn't have one, so he threw a few extra blankets over her. She had a troubled look upon her face, but there was nothing he could do about it, so Harry went to sit by the mouth of the tent, to keep watch, but every few seconds, he turned to look at her and see if she was alright or stirring.  
>The silence was lonely. Usually, Hermione put some music on so it was a bit strange to have no sound but his own slow and steady breathing. He felt his head droop to the side...<p>

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Harry woke with a start. He looked automatically over to Hermione's bunk. She was fast asleep peacefully, her troubled state had subsided. He looked forward, there was nothing outside except a rabbit or two. He looked back at Hermione, and was surprised to see she was stirring. He rushed over to her just as she looked around groggily.  
>"Hi," He said tentatively.<br>"Harry, I think I was possessed," She murmured, climbing out of her bunk.  
>"What? I don't think so, I mean unless when that locket-" He began.<br>"Yes, that's what it must have been...thank you," She said.  
>"Why?" He asked, bewildered at her sudden return to full strength.<br>"You took me back to the tent. I'd fainted." She explained.  
>"Well, what was I going to do, leave you there?" He joked with her and the ends of her lips curled into a small smile.<br>"No, but thanks," She said.  
>"I should be the one thanking you! I would've died if you hadn't shown up when you did." He thanked her truthfully.<br>And, he did something very out of character. He hugged her. Shocked, Hermione hugged him back, but wondered in the back of her mind what had gotten into him. Still, she was touched, seeing as he almost never opened up to anyone.

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So...this is freakishly short but they'll get longer, I will update asap, I also have some new stories that I NEED to get to soon, or I'll forget so...  
>See you in Chapter 3! And by the way this story is slightly out of order because the dance scene is coming up next even though they should've already had it. So, I'll hurry! Thanks again and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

I CANNOT DESCRIBE HOW AWESOME YOU GUYS ARE MAKING ME FEEL! HONESTLY, THIS IS AMAZING! Thank you so much for all your support! Well, without further ado: CHAPTER 3:  
>PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!<br>Normal POV:  
>It had been about a week since Hermione had first gotten up, and it had been quiet around. Both of them had realized that Ron really wasn't coming back and it was hard on the pair of them. It was an unspoken realization, but still Hermione was still cut up. She sat in corners and cried silently, her knees in her hands for the whole day, and she would cry herself to sleep. Harry knew it was bad to keep feeling bottled up, so he didn't try to comfort her. Until that day. He had never seen her so upset. She hadn't eaten in five days, and he'd never seen her looking so pale. He had even tried to force food into her unwilling mouth once, but even that didn't work. She refused. He had kept all her portions of the food and saved it for when she finally agreed to eat, but he highly suspected i she didn't eat soon, she would starve.<br>Harry was sitting outside taking watch. He heard music playing. He had heard this song when he was small, and he glided inside the tent without a thought. Next thing he knew, he was dancing extremely awkwardly in front of Hermione. For the first time in a very long time, she began to smile. Neither of them were exactly professional dancers (least of all Harry) but they were lifted each other's spirits and that was all that mattered to them. She exploded in giggles, something Harry had never seen her do, but he found it was contagious, and soon they were both smiling and laughing like there were no horcruxes, like there was no Voldemort, like there was no Ron.  
>The song began to draw to a close and they began to slow dance in each other's arms. The final not rang from the radio and static filled the atmosphere again. They broke apart physically, but the dance had brought them closer. That night, Hermione ate. Everything was alright again. There was a peaceful silence until Hermione said something very strange.<br>"I want to go see Xenophilius Lovegood,"

Yay! That's my favorite chapter so far! What'd'you think? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!


	4. Chapter 4

Without further ado, Chapter 4 of A Different Take On Things! **PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!**  
>"Excuse me?" Harry said in shock and bewilderment.<br>"I want to go and see Xenophilius Lovegood," She repeated, her brown eyes boring into his.  
>"<em>Why?<em>" He asked bemusedly.  
>"That mark. C'mere," Hermione explained vaguely and gesturing him to follow her. He stayed rooted to his spot, but she didn't seem to notice. She dug out the old copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard out of her rucksack and flipped through the pages until she found what she was looking for. He then gave in and strode over to her side and looked over her shoulder to see what she was on about.<br>"Look, there it is," Hermione said, pointing at a page Harry recognized because she had shown him two times before. The triangle eye thing was clearly inked in. It confused him greatly, but he thought they needed to stay on track. After all, they did have three horcruxes to find and destroy, though it did help a lot that they now had the sword.  
>"You've shown me this before, Hermione," Harry said impatiently.<br>"I know, but it keeps cropping up and every time it does, I deem it more important! And you said Xenophilius had this around his neck at the wedding! It's worth a shot, right!" Hermione argued passionately.  
>"Krum said-" Harry began, not believing his own self anymore.<br>"I don't bloody _care_ what Krum said, Harry! It's not Grindelwald's mark, and you _know_ it isn't!" She said hotly, her anger rising. He sighed. He supposed it was inevitable, she always knew what he was thinking. It was actually kind of creepy, when he thought about it, but he let it slide, seeing as she had known him for so long.  
>"Fine, but I just don't want-we <em>really<em> don't need another Godric's Hallow, Hermione," He said worriedly. Remembering how close to dying he had been, Hermione's eyes began to leak. Harry tried to coax her, placing his hand lightly on top of her's. She smiled softly.  
>"It won't be," She promised him, after a bit, her gaze softening, not that it was hard before, "Besides, Lovegood is for you. The Quibbler, unlike those <em>other<em> magazines-" She made a disgusted face that eliminated more of Harry's worry than what she was actually saying did, "Is supporting you. He'll help us,"  
>"Well..." He murmured, still not fully convinced. She looked at him intently. Finally, he couldn't stand her gentle chocolate eyes seeing into his soul, and he sighed.<br>"Alright," He muttered grudgingly. Shocking him, she grinned widely and flung her arms around him in a quick hug.  
>"Let's start planning, then," Harry said confusedly.<br>He sat on the chair nearest to her and she sat, and there they began to plan. After a few minutes, Hermione decided that they shouldn't use Polyjuice, because they could use it more later on.  
>"It's best to go when no one will be out and about, so...dawn or late at night I say," Harry said.<br>"Yeah, I think dawn, I don't want to bother him,"  
>"We're bothering him either way," He said, more to comfort her than anything else. It didn't exactly work, but Hermione was too happy to have Harry agreeing with her to backtrack. Instead, she nodded a couple times.<br>"I'm ready," She said as calmly as she could. Harry smiled for a second and held out her bag. As she took it from him, her hand brushed his momentarily. He shrugged it off by grabbing her hand completely and grabbing the cloak and dragging it over the both of them, without letting go once. Now that they were taller, they would usually have to crouch, but because Ron wasn't with them and he was the tallest, they merely had to stay close.  
>It was a bit (or a lot) closer than they were accustomed to. Finally, he apparated them.<p>

So, there you go, if you look really hard, you can see there is significantly more romance between them and it will get more and more as the story continues. This was sort of the "Hmmm, you're kind of pretty-wait-never mind, I can't think that!" chapter and it'll be that way for a bit. Chapter 5 will be up soon! **PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!**


	5. Chapter 5

Well, this is Chapter 5! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT! **PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!**

It took them quite a while to find Xenophilius's house, in the pitch-black darkness, and the distraction of the freezing winter air, but once they had, there was no mistaking it. Quite a few times, Hermione had gotten frightened by a loose branch, or a whistle of the wind, and once even so scared she had nearly knocked the pair of them over; she had flung herself onto Harry so quickly. Embarrassed, she had pulled away, and tried her hardest not to be startled the rest of the journey. He had told her he hadn't minded, but she ignored him.  
>They shed the cloak, and Hermione put it in her bag, both of them shivering violently despite their thick overcoats. She took a deep breath, clearly frightened of what was to come, and he waited for a moment. She stared at the door as though it was going to eat her, and Harry, taking pity on her, stroked her back gently a few times and she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, and rested her head in the crook of his neck for a moment.<br>_Very_ soon after, (too soon after) she let go of him and gestured him forward to knock on the door. He did.  
>To their surprise, despite the time, (it was nearly five in the morning), he came to the door almost immediately. He looked quite deranged; his white-blonde hair was strewn all over his face, and his eyes darting wildly around.<br>"M-Mr. Potter!" He half-shouted, causing both Harry and Hermione to _'shush'_ him. He fell silent and just stood staring at them, his mouth agape, and they were slowly getting frustrated, not to mention feeling as though frostbite was beginning in their feet.  
>"Can-can we come in?" Harry asked as patiently as he could.<br>"D-er-oh! Erm, er, I'd rather-oh-ok, I suppose, just-if you insist-quick!" He said all very quickly and he nearly slammed the door shut on Hermione's hair, and she wouldn't have even made it in if Harry hadn't pulled her by the hand.  
>He led them to a room upstairs. It was the messiest and untidy room either of them had ever seen. He ran along it with difficulty, Harry and Hermione trailing far behind him, finding it nearly impossible to maneuver their way around all the junk.<br>"Let me go get you some tea," He said extremely nervously, and, causing all their attempts to cross the room without being sucked in by some strange creature that might be there, though they would never know in the mess; At least unless it jumped up and grabbed them, to be useless.  
>(It was the Lovegood's house, so Harry supposed anything was possible). He clambered from the room, leaving them alone.<br>"He makes me sort of _uncomfortable_, but he supports you, so I suppose he can't be _all_ bad..." Hermione said, eternally trying to find the good in people. He couldn't help but smile at her, and she didn't know why but she smiled back, instead of asking him why, like she normally would have done.  
>"I guess, I mean he is a tad <em>eccentric<em>, but, well to use your words, he can't be all bad," Harry agreed. A peaceful silence followed his words. The silences that they were accustomed to and not the long, drawn out, nasty ones that came from when Ron was with them and wearing the locket.  
>"Oh my God!" She squealed after a gasp.<br>"What?" He said anxiously and worriedly, a split second after she had began to panic.  
>"That's a-a Erumpent horn!"<br>"Oh, no," Harry replied uncertainly, not sure if he should be elated or frightened.  
>"Harry," Hermione began, sensing his confusion. "A Erumpent horn is a Class B Tradeable Object!"<br>"Er...I'm not quite sure what that means-"  
>"You <em>really<em> didn't pay attention in class did you?" She said impatiently, causing him to crack a smile. But, soon after, it vanished, for she was still looking extremely nervous and uncomfortable. He had a feeling she wasn't done.  
>She wasn't.<br>"A Erumpent horn can explode at the lightest touch! So for Merlin's sake, get the _hell _away from that thing!" she seized him by the hand and dragged him over (with difficulty) to where she was standing.  
>At that moment, Xenophilius returned with a tray, failing to notice they were holding hands. He gestured them nervously and impatiently into chairs and sat himself in one. Cutting to the chase, (and obviously a bit scared of him) Hermione dropped Harry's hand and opened her mouth to speak.<br>"Well, Mr. Lovegood, we were wondering if you could tell us about that mark-the triangle eye-"  
>"The sign of the Deathly Hallows?"<p>

Sorry, that one doesn't have much romance but it was more story based because this is still DH just A Different Take On Things. Sorry, just had to say it like that. There will be major romance coming up so keep waiting! Sorry for the wait, but chapter 6 will be up soon! **PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!**


	6. Chapter 6

HI! Well, Didja like chapter 5? We are getting deeper and deeper into the tale now, and keep an eye out for updates on my other stories! Also, I have a humor bunny stuck in my head. Think I should post? Let me know! Well, here's Chapter 6:

**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!**  
>"The <em>what?<em>" The said at the same time.  
>"The Deathly Hallows," He repeated. He must've noticed their bewildered faces, because he began to elaborate. "I am sure you both have read the Tale of the Three Brothers?"<br>"Yes," Hermione said as Harry said, "No,"  
>"Here, I have a copy," Hermione pulled out her beaded bag and dug through it. After a good thirty seconds of rummaging in which Mr. Lovegood spent his time flipping his head nervously to look out the window as though he were awaiting a burglar. Finally, she pulled out the battered copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard hat Dumbledore had given her and set it down on the small coffee table.<br>"Read it," He murmured, and he looked out the window again. Hermione flipped through the pages a bit until she found the page with the inked in triangle eye, which was supposedly known as the Deathly Hallows sign.  
>She began to read...<br>"_...And, together they departed this life, as equals._" She finished, and Harry shivered. Who in their right mind would read that to a _child?_  
>"Well, there you have it. Those are the Deathly Hallows." Xenophilius said, looking out the window again.<br>"I don't understand," Hermione said confusedly.  
>"The line...Elder Wand. The triangle...Invisibility Cloak. The circle...Resurrection Stone." He said simply as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.<br>"Does the Peverell family have anything to do with the Deathly Hallows, sir?" Hermione asked, causing Harry to launch himself into deep thinking about where he had heard that name.  
>"The Peverell family?" Xenophilius inquired. "The Peverells have <em>everything <em>to do with the Deathly Hallows! Ignotus, Cadmus, and Antioch Peverell are said to be the three brothers from the tale!"  
>"You can't possibly-ow!" Hermione began but Harry, who saw where she was going with this, pinched her a bit on the arm to silence her.<br>"Where's Luna?" Harry asked him to cover up Hermione's outrage.  
>"Oh, y-yes! L-Luna! She'll be along," He responded, his nervousness that had vanished for a moment returning.<br>"Oh, erm, er, yes you should be, er-your tea, yes, it must be cold, I-I'll go get you some m-more..." And he practically sprinted out of the room.  
>"Is there something <em>wrong<em> with him?" Hermione said.  
>"I don't know but I get the impression he's hiding something from us." he responded, holding up the book and trying to remember where he heard the name Peverell.<br>"It didn't sound like he was at all sure where Luna was, did he?" Harry merely nodded in response. Silence.  
>"<em>Gaunt!<em>" Harry half-shouted, causing Hermione to jump about a foot into the air. "Sorry," He apologized, excitement apparent in his voice.  
>"'S OK," She muttered, looking at his curiously and apprehensively.<br>"Gaunt. Marvolo Gaunt! Voldemort's-"  
>"Harry, <em>NO!<em>"  
>CRASH!<br>Flashes of light lit the place up, and a bed fell on top of Hermione from the ceiling.  
>"What the hell? Really? A <em>bed?<em>" Harry yelled in confusion. She screamed in pain, and he toppled over a mountain of junk to find her. He managed to drag her out of the rubble after a minute or two, and he dragged her to her feet.  
>The house was literally about to fall apart. The floor was tipping beneath them, and they could hardly keep themselves upright. Harry felt as though he had just drank poison, the world was spinning...<br>The problem was, Hermione was about as bad with tipping floors as she was on a broom. She kept on slipping and sliding and falling with every movement, and Harry ended up holding her hands firmly so she wouldn't fall through the hole, clamping one hand over her mouth so the people below wouldn't hear them.  
>Too late. Losing his own footing, Harry toppled to the ground, nearly killing Hermione, who fell along with him, and since neither of them were mice (obviously) they made a thud.<br>"Oh, crap," He muttered and he pulled out his wand, (in this fic, Harry's wand was not destroyed beyond repair and Hermione was able to mend it with spellotape) ready to fight whatever was awaiting them when Hermione tugged it out of his hand, and thrust it firmly back into his pocket.  
>"Do you trust me?" She asked him.<br>"What?"  
>"Do you trust me?" She said more urgently, her deep brown eyes boring into his. There was fright apparent in them now that he was seeing them close up.<br>"Yes, but-"  
>"Where's your cloak?"<br>"In my pocket, but-" he said in confusion.  
>"Well, get it out, because you know full well I'm not sticking my hand down <em>there!<em>" She whispered exasperatedly. Harry pulled out his cloak and she wrenched it out of his hand and pulled it over the pair of them.  
>"No!" He said all of a sudden.<br>"What?" She said confusedly.  
>"Mr. Lovegood! He'll be tortured if we don't make them know we were the ones who said it!" She looked at him uncomfortably for a moment before it switched to compassion and tenderness, and she slunk the cloak off of them and allowed the door to crash open. For a split second, the Death Eaters saw them. And then they were gone.<br>They appeared, breathing heavily in the forest.  
>"I'll do the enchantments," Harry murmured, dropping her hand, but still wearing the cloak that had flapped over him during the apparation. She nodded.<br>He was about to mutter the first protective enchantment when she gasped loudly. He whirled around to see a pack of Snatchers staring at her.  
>"Boys," one of them, obviously the head, said with a smirk, motioning the jacket clad men hidden in the trees to catch them, "Snatch her,"<p>

Dun dun DUN! What will happen next? Keep in mind; they cannot see Harry because he is under his invisibility cloak! **PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!**


	7. Chapter 7

Hi again, sorry for the wait! Please check out my tribute to Lily and James Potter it's called The Last Enemy That Shall Be Destroyed Is Death. Chapter 7:** PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!**  
>He turned to look at her, frightened out of his wits, for a fraction of a second. It was apparent Hermione couldn't be more petrified. Even as she turned to run, Harry knew it was no good. She only ran a few yards before she turned to see where they were, was terrified to find they were right behind her, and fell over a loose branch.<br>"Well, that was easy," said one of the Snatchers. Harry glared (though they couldn't see him). To his and their surprise, Hermione was clambering to her feet and sprinting away from them. The moment they noticed, they pulled out their wands.  
>"<em>Crucio!<em>" one of them bellowed. Sadly, they were on target. Hermione dropped to the ground once more, but this time she was squealing in pain. Harry felt as though knives were piercing him. He couldn't take her screams...  
>He burst. Blowing his cover completely, he threw the cloak into his pocket and trampled the head Snatcher who was torturing her, punching every inch of him he could reach, forgetting his wand. The Snatcher was getting angrier and angrier, causing Hermione to squeal louder and louder.<br>Completely losing it, Harry kicked him square in the privet. The Snatcher wailed in pain and dropped his wand, thus relieving Hermione. The other Snatchers had finally been shocked into action, and they bound Harry and knocked him to the ground. The trouble was, they bound him around the neck. Immediately, he blacked out.  
>Not knowing who he was they stepped forward, and it took them a good ten seconds to utter a gasp of recognition.<br>Hermione lay completely forgotten, tears flowing uncontrollably from her eyes, shaking and gasping for breath, not because she had been tortured, that didn't bother her. From where she was looking, Harry wasn't breathing.  
>She knew she was free, but she wouldn't leave him, even if her legs could support her shaking body.<br>Remembering her, the Snatchers picked her up harshly, and literally threw her to the ground next to Harry. They didn't bother to bind her; they knew she was too weak. She kept moaning, asking what they had done to him, begging to know if he was alive.  
>"Kill me, go ahead, but is he OK? Please! Have mercy, please! PLEASE! Is he alright? Is he OK? Is he OK-?"<br>"He's alive for now, Mudblood. But not for long. Our orders were to bring him to the Dark Lord...alive. He said nothing about no Mudbloods travelin' with him. 'Cept if it was a freak with"-he tugged her by the hair up to his face-"bushy"-He kicked her in the stomach-"hair.  
>"He said to let Bella and Frenrir take care of you, so thas' just what we're gonna do, ain't it, beautiful?"<br>"Scabior-" One snatcher said fearfully.  
>"WHAT?" The head Snatcher said threateningly.<br>"Do we loosen the ropes, because his pulse is almost gone," He said quietly. At that, Hermione began to scream again.  
>"PLEASE! PLEASE! Loosen them! Loosen them! PLEASE! He'll die if you don't-you'll die if you don't. You'll be disobeying his orders if you don't! Please have mercy, have-" The head Snatcher kicked her full on the mouth. He squealed louder than she had before, and Harry woke (the ropes had just been loosened). Seeing pints of blood flowing profusely from Hermione's mouth, he was shocked into silence.<br>"We're taking 'em to Malfoy Manor," Scabior commanded. The Snatchers gathered around them, and threw Hermione right next to Harry and bound them together. They left to go check what was in the tent, leavig them alone.  
>"Hermione?" Harry murmured anxiously.<br>"Y-yeah," She breathed, hardly able to breath from the pain.  
>"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I-" Harry began, but she cut him across.<br>"Shhhhhh," Her voice came from his back. "It's not your fault,"  
>"I shouldn't've blown my cover! I should've thought! I just lost control, you know? He was hurting you and I just...something inside me just...burst. I just couldn't see you hurt. But I was stupid, and I'm sorry. But I care too much about you to see you hurt." Hermione felt her face grow warm, glad he couldn't see her. Even though she was still stinging all over, she couldn't help but crack a smile, touched. She found his hand under the bindings and stroked it gently.<br>If she was red, it was nothing compared to Harry. He looked like he had been descended from a plum. Thankful she had her back facing him, he squeezed her hand.  
>"Thanks," She said gratefully. He merely squeezed her hand again. She supposed he was just catching his breath from the lack of oxygen, and again she was reminded of what he had just gone through for her sake, and she couldn't help but want to thank him in a better way than a murmured 'thanks'.<p>

I thought that was a good place for a chapter end. The major romance is approaching fast now, and think about it: "Thank him in a better way than a murmured thanks," hmmmmm, what's better than SAYING thanks...*smiles wickedly for no reason at all*  
><strong>PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

Hello! So, I felt so bad for being so behind on updates for you guys that I am updating now! So, CHAPTER 8!  
><strong>PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!<br>**They were dragged all the way to Malfoy Manor painfully, their heads butting together with every move. Hermione knew they weren't exactly going to be able to escape now, so she had ceased action, and tried to coax Harry, who was tugging the ropes and bouncing up and down like a hungry baby. The ropes were bound very tightly, and she gagged every time he jumped to action, which was causing her to grow very annoyed with him. Finally, Harry began to redeem his composure and comprehend their predicament, which wasn't exactly good either, as he wouldn't stop apologizing profusely to her, as though he had something to apologize for.  
>"Shut up!" She half-shouted, finally bursting her cap, "This isn't your fault and even if it was, apologizing isn't going to get us out of this mess! I know what I signed up for and I already told you, I am willing to die for you,"<br>"But I don't want you to!" He said desperately, "And you're not going to! I'll get us out, I swear!" Hermione sighed, knowing that there was almost no way they could get out of this one, but resisting from voicing it.  
>The moment Bellatrix saw Harry, she ordered them to be dragged in (she couldn't quite see Harry clearly because of the huge bruise on his face from the bed that had smacked him).<br>As Frenrir pulled out the sword he must've taken from their tent, Bellatrix went even more ballistic than usual.  
>"What is that? Where'd you get that from? <em>ANSWER ME, YOU IMBUSULE!<em>" He stared at her with wide-eyes, obviously wondering how she could have such nerve to speak to him in that way. All the same, he mumbled an answer.  
>"Found it, in their tent," Bellatrix then proceeded in her mad ways to receive the sword and almost killed the werewolf in the act, but she ended up with the sword in hand.<br>"Cissy, put him in the cellar, while I can have some time to think!" Bellatrix said crazily. "But not the girl!" Harry protested and kicked and punched at being separated from Hermione, but still, some Death Eater grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and tossed him down the staircase into the cellar, shutting the door behind him.  
>He immediately ran to the door and started pounding on it, wishing it would open, but it didn't budge.<br>He heard words coming from upstairs, though he couldn't tell what they were, and then-  
>AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHH!<br>It was one of the loudest, piercing screeches he had ever heard, and the worst part was that he recognized it as Hermione's. He ceased his pointless attempts to break free and switched his focus on getting her out of there alive, because he had promised.  
>"Harry? Is that you?" Said a voice behind him. It was Luna.<br>"Luna! What are you doing here?" He questioned.  
>"Oh, I've been captured." Another shrill screech...<br>He was close to tears. He wanted to break down the door, he wanted to gag Bellatrix for doing whatever she was doing to _his_ Hermione (as he thought that, a small man in his head stared in shock while wondering _'his Hermione'_?, though he chose to ignore it, it was nothing but stupidity now). But it didn't matter what he wanted to do, all that mattered was that he got her out alive. Another scream...  
><em>It should be me! It should be me! It should be ME!<em>  
>Scream...<br>It was torturing him...  
>Squeal...<br>_I'm so sorry!_  
>Whimper...<br>_I love you..._

Sorry! I can't add more this was supposed to have the next chapter, but you can't just keep going with the story when an I love you is said! Sorry, but I will have chapter 9 up soon! Isn't being sick at school the worst? **PLEASE REVIEW!**


	9. Chapter 9

So first of all, I am **SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO** sorry the wait, I have had the biggest mountain of homework I have ever had. So again, sorry for leaving you guys in the dust there! Well, back to the story...  
>The last chapter (8) had a very important three words in it. Problem was they were in italics, thus, THOUGHTS! So...nothing solved yet. Chapter 9 then!<br>**PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!** And again sorry for the immensely long wait!

"Harry? Are you alright?" Luna wondered aloud, "Nargles got your tongue?" He looked up at her and simply stared into her mildly surprised blue eyes for a few moments. Another blood-curdling screech issued from beyond the staircase, and out of pure impulse, Harry tugged on the hem of his jeans and extricated the shard of mirror that Sirius had given him and begged it for help, knowing though not caring how mad he must have looked. "Harry Potter!" Squeaked a voice from behind him. He whirled around and had to refrain from yelling in shock. "Dobby?" He asked the small elf unnecessarily. Nevertheless, Dobby nodded.  
>"What are you doing here?" Harry questioned him.<br>"Well-" Dobby began but he was interrupted by yet another shriek that felt like a blade through his heart. A few random strings of words could be made out this time, but he wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention, he knew he just needed to get her the hell out of there-and fast.  
>"That's nice," Harry said, cutting off the elf's explanation, "So you can apparate in and out of here?"<br>"I'm an _elf_, sir." That was good enough for him. He set Dobby to work, taking Luna, Ollivander, and the Goblin (A.N. They already took him in for questioning, just assume everything like that already happened) to a safe place, and to open the door for him.  
>As the door unclicked, and Harry stumbled out and up the stairs, everything was deadly quiet. Somehow, the screams were better; at least he knew she was alive and still fighting. When he reached the top, he froze, and felt his heart burn in fury and break all at the same time.<br>Hermione was lying hopelessly at Bellatrix's feet, the ghost of her resistance completely evaporated into thin air.  
>"No one to save you now, Mudblood. I suppose you'll just have to sit here and die." Bellatrix half-sang madly in delight.<br>"You _wish_," He said threateningly, emerging from the shadows and lunging at Bellatrix, wanting nothing more than to slit open her throat for every teardrop she had ever made fall from his best friend's eyes.  
>I really didn't think this through very well, he thought to himself as dozens of Death Eaters advanced on him. He dragged Hermione into his arms as securely as he could manage in half a second, and Lucius Malfoy hit the floor the moment her limp form had been before.<br>He dueled both Narcissa and Draco with one hand using the first wand he could find (which he had practically ripped out of Draco's wand hand) and balanced Hermione with the other. Wishing he had more hands, he fought with all his might before Dobby returned, distracted the Death Eaters, and apparated the pair of them out of there and into safety.  
>He didn't waste his time looking around, and he didn't see the silver dagger headed their way. He held onto Hermione tightly, praying she was alive and not permanently damaged like Neville's poor parents. When the compression of apparation had subsided, he stayed clammed up with her limp form in his arms for a few moments before he glanced around at their surroundings.<br>He didn't recognize the place. It was beautiful, however. The smell of the salty ocean water caused his nostrils to dilate as he took in the large and cozy looking cottage a few yards off. None of it seemed to matter. He just needed Hermione to be OK. He didn't even hear the people coming, and when he did, he didn't care if they were there to help him or kill him; as long as they showed his poor tortured friend mercy. Whoever it was was attempting to pry him off of her, but he would allow it. He only gripped her tighter, and kept begging them to help her, not making any sense whatsoever. He finally gazed upwards and saw that it was Bill.  
>He hesitantly let go of her and silently gave the redhead permission to do whatever he could to help her.<br>"Harry, what the _hell_ is this?" Bill questioned, gesturing wildly at Hermione. "She looks like she's been _tortured!_" At this, Harry clamped his mouth firmly shut.  
>"We can't help her at all if we don't know what's wrong with her." The redhead said simply with a tone that plainly stated that he knew exactly what Harry was doing.<br>"I don't know, Bill," He answered truthfully, fighting with himself to remain calm, "I couldn't see but she was tortured in some way, she was screaming like mad." He clenched his fist; it was even painful to think about it, let alone talk about it.  
>"Cruciatus?"<br>"Most likely."  
>"Alright. I'll see what we can do, but I can't make any prom-Harry..." He trailed off.<br>"What?" Harry said sharply, before he followed Bill's gaze and his eyes fell on Dobby, a silver dagger stuck in his stomach. He let Bill and Fleur heave Hermione into the house and rushed over to the elf that had saved their lives and wrenched the knife out, but he couldn't help but worry that it was too late; the blood was everywhere.  
>It soaked his shirt and jeans, getting all over his hands; but he didn't care. He tried to comfort the elf while finding something to help it with, but when Dobby, said his name so weakly he knew there was nothing to be done for it; the brave creature who had saved all of their lives would die. His friend would die.<br>"Such a beautiful place, to be with friends. Dobby is happy to be with his friend: Harry Potter." And those were the last words the poor elf ever squeaked. He died being brave. He was murdered by the same person as Sirius had been, and for the same reason too: to defend those who they loved. Harry could feel the hot tears beginning to stream from his eyes, growing steadily heavier as he went inside Bill and Fleur's cottage, found a spade, and began to dig.  
>He didn't know how long he was there, throwing his shovel into the ground, fighting back the tears, fighting back Voldemort and that Godforsaken scar he had been cursed with, making sure to somehow repay Dobby for everything he had sacrificed for him. After what Harry guessed was about two hours, he was done. The gravestone was carved, the reddish-brown earth near the rushing ocean placed back over the elf in his own jacket. He felt an incredibly warm and (even in the state of mixed trauma and despair he was in) comforting close around his own, and its pair come to rest on his shoulder. He saw that it was Hermione out of his peripheral vision, and that was all he needed. He knew she wouldn't judge him, so he cried.<br>He let go of everything he had been holding in for so long, every emotion he had concealed because he had been determined to stay strong for the very person who was too crying, who had shifted her position until she was hugging him tightly, who had just been tortured on his behalf: to keep him safe. He released all the sadness of all those nameless, faceless people he never even met, though were killed because he wasn't fast enough, all those people he did know that were killed for the same reason, for all those who may not have died, but were still in grave danger because of him. All because of him; because he couldn't kill that stupid _bastard_ in time to save them. All of those poor, innocent people who never even got the chance to truly live their lives; cheated out of them, all because of Voldemort.  
>Someone stepped slowly behind them. He choked back the rest of his emotions, calmed himself down as quickly as humanly possible, and broke apart from her. He looked up slowly, and it was to his immense shock that he saw a clump of flaming red hair. His heart stopped and seemed to have an inner spasm. The first thing he felt was anger. Hot, boiling, overpowering fury that he had no hope in controlling, so he didn't even try. <em>How dare he come back after all he had cost her? She's been torn from her happiness for weeks, even months, he completely broke her, and now he just walks up and thinks it's nothing?<br>_He couldn't even hold himself back, he sprinted towards him and began to beat him to a pulp, needing to cause him as much pain as possible, wanting him to feel every bit of sadness he had ever _ever_ cost Hermione. He felt himself being dragged off of Ron, who had had knocked to the ground within seconds, by at least three people, their voices echoing meaninglessly through his head. The first one who had grabbed him seemed to be more gentle than they could be, and, in his completely barking state had pushed them off none too gently (that was an understatement; whoever it was had been thrown to the floor; he had heard them squeal in pain after they had thudded to the ground). But they were persistent. They jumped to their feet again and tugged again until he collapsed again them and toppled backwards. He was ready to jump to his feet again and continue hitting Ron, but two other threw him back on the ground. After a few rapid minutes, his chest heaving, he looked around and saw Bill and Fleur looking disheveled, Fleur's hair flying out of her hair tie, Bill's shirt slightly torn. Already knowing what was coming, though wishing he was wrong, he turned to see his suspicions confirmed: he had just thrown Hermione. She looked in real pain; he rolled off of her very gently (so as to not get thrown back onto her by Bill, though mostly to spare her the pain) and looked at her in a way to ask if she was alright. She looked at him, close to tears, and silently begged him to calm down. He found himself (unfortunately) lost in her eyes. Flashbacks of a few hours earlier flooded his mind. The screams...

_Another scream...  
>It should be me! It should be me! It should be ME!<br>Scream...  
>It was torturing him...<br>Squeal...  
>I'm so sorry!<br>Whimper...  
>I love you...<br>_  
>That dance; she was so close...<p>

He pushed his thoughts from his head, frazzled and slightly dazed, and took him a few moments to realize everyone was staring (all except for Ron, who was feebly stirring a few yards away, his face a bit bloody and his wrist facing the opposite direction). He had gotten closer to Hermione in the few moments he had been zoned out, and was very nearly kissing her.  
>Fleur was staring determinedly in the other direction, as though she had just walked in on someone being indecent and Bill was watching them, his eyes very wide. He backed up and stood, ignoring both Bill and Fleur's sharp movements, preparing to restrain him again if they had to, though he simply stalked off in the other direction. After a few moments, they both relaxed a bit and began to tend to Ron, while, without their notice, Hermione headed off to follow Harry.<p>

Soooooooo...What did you think? RON'S BACK! And by the way I am NOT bashing Ron at all in this story, nor have I in any of my others. I actually like Ron; I just don't want him together with Hermione when there's the option for Harmony. He's a good character. BUT, imagine you were in Harry's place. You'd be pretty pissed too, so you can't really blame him. Anyways, hope you liked it, and I will try and hurry up Chapter 10. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!


	10. Chapter 10

Hi! So here is chapter 10, as promised! **PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!**  
>He walked. And he just kept going. Going and going until finally he came to a stop by the edge of the house, the beach sand surrounding him. All of a sudden, he whipped around. Not expecting it, Hermione, who was already quite traumatized by the day's events, dropped to the ground and whimpered. His gaze immediately softening, he held his hand out to help her up.<br>She allowed him to coax her to her feet, though she continued to hold onto his hand lightly. He dropped her hand after a bit though, and shifted to face her.  
>"What did they do to you?" He asked quietly, his voice cracking a little as he said it. She looked at him full in the face for nearly a whole minute without speaking. He seemed to realize that she was going to wait it out and weasel out of telling him, but he wouldn't take it. He caught her gaze and tightened it until she had 'the look' in her eyes, the look that told him that she couldn't look away from him. He then grabbed her wrist as an extra precaution in case she tried to break off again, but realized too late it wasn't a good idea.<br>"OW! Ouch, Harry get off! Ow!" She squealed, pushing and pulling, desperately trying to escape his grip, though in the act, she revealed the cut. The moment Harry saw it, he fell completely silent, but on the inside, he felt nauseous. _Mudblood._  
>He glanced up, caught a glimpse of her eyes, which were now flooded with pain. Harry, for the second time that day, felt fury like no other course through his veins, causing his head to pulsate in rage.<br>Losing control completely, he threw himself onto the floor and just hit. Hit whatever poor insects might've been in front of him at the moment, wishing it was Bellatrix.  
>He kept going, not stopping, not even breathing, just releasing the monster that only seemed to come out when Hermione was hurt.<br>Hermione, completely petrified, had bravely dropped to her knees and begged him to stop, but she knew there was no hope. She would have to wait it out.  
>It seemed like hours before he finally forced his breathing back to normal. For a few moments, he simply breathed and leaned into her, but then he started to cry. She couldn't help but wonder if he was alright, but she held him all the same. Thankfully, it didn't last too long. After only a few minutes, he calmed down completely and looked up at her.<br>She, again, could see him coming closer, briefly wondering what it would be like to kiss him. This time, she succumbed to her feelings however; This time, she found herself leaning in too. Their noses were nearly touching, her eyelids beginning to droop...  
>"What the HELL was that?" Rang the voice of Bill Weasley through their ears. They jumped apart, now both brutally aware of what they were about to do. They looked at each other guiltily until Harry stalked off, but not before muttering, "He asked for it,"<p>

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It was around two in the morning. Only a few hours ago, they had had an exceedingly long conversation with Ron that had lead into both Harry and Ron having meltdowns and Hermione trying to corral them into sanity. In the end, Hermione had convinced Harry into letting Ron help them again, though he would probably never be fully forgiven. He thanked her and apologized profusely, and they had all headed off to bed. Harry couldn't help but think Hermione was coping exceptionally well, considering the happenings of the day before, but he was also somewhat apprehensive, watching her and making sure she was alright. It was almost unheard of that anyone bounced back from that kind of torture so quickly, especially to the degree that she had suffered it. She wouldn't say exactly what she had had done to her, but judging by her screams it was probably the Cruciatus and her wrist. He himself had been tortured for only a few moments, and he had nightmares for nearly a whole year. So he watched her, ready to comfort her if she cracked, though she seemed quite fine.  
>Until around two in the morning. He heard a faint knock on his door when he was just about to go to sleep. He walked over and opened it softly to reveal Hermione. With just a single glance, he knew she wasn't OK. She didn't look like she had all day. She appeared slightly vulnerable, wringing her hands a bit and breathing shallowly, as though she was expecting something to pop out of the darkness and murder her. He gently took her hand (the one that didn't have that word engraved in it) and led her in.<br>"Are you alright?" He asked to keep it casual, knowing very well she wasn't anywhere near 'alright'.  
>"Yeah, just a bit...shaky is all." She said is barely over a whisper. Even her voice sounded vulnerable. "C-can I stay in here for tonight?"<br>"Of course," Harry said, pointing to his bed.  
>"Oh, no, that's yours, I can go on the floor, I just, you know, need the presence." She said in the same voice as before, but if anything even softer. She seemed to be cracking just as he had expected her to.<br>"Hermione, it's OK. God only knows what you've been through today, so just go ahead."  
>"A-are you sure?"<br>"'Course," he said while nodding. She muttered a quick "thanks," and sat down on the bed. Harry went to the bathroom to finish getting on his PJ's (he probably looked ridiculous with plaid pajama pants and a bloody t-shirt), but when he came out, Hermione wasn't on the bed.  
>She was on the floor, curled up into a little ball, crying her eyes out. He stepped forward, scooped her up, and apparated them outside, thinking a bit of fresh air might do her some good.<br>It didn't seem to be working, however. She only kept shaking and sobbing. After a while he simply sat down, and hoped she would calm down soon, it broke him to see her like she was.  
>He rocked her gently back and forth in his arms for an undetermined amount of time, until she stopped shaking. Assuming she was asleep, he shifted his traumatized friend as lightly as he could manage, but midway, he stopped and changed his mind. He continued to rock her extremely slowly for at least another hour to keep her calm. She was completely still now, and when he looked down, surely enough, Hermione was sleeping silently.<br>Realizing how tired he was, but not wanting to wake her, he scooped her up more securely and was about to carry her, but she had already sensed the movement, dropped out of his arms and began to walk sleepily towards the cottage, one of her hands in his.

Well, what did you think? I know not that much happened in this chapter, but there was quite a bit of fluff. Hope you liked it! **PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!**


	11. Chapter 11

Hi again! Sorry for not updating! Anyway, on with the story, and **PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!**

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Her eyes fluttered open, and when she took a look around, trying to distinguish her surroundings, she saw that she was on the floor, a pillow from the bed under her head and a blanket placed comfortably on her. Harry was curled up beside her, his glasses still on him. She felt his hand on top of her own, but for some reason she didn't feel like moving it.  
>He twitched awake after a bit, and it took him a moment to realize she was there.<br>"I thought you were on the bed," He murmured into his pillow, kicking off the blanket and stretching a bit. He had dropped her hand. It suddenly felt somewhat drafty, but she brushed it off to Harry discarding the blanket, though deep down she knew that it wasn't just the blanket. She slipped off of her own pillow and clambered to her feet, deciding it was probably quite late, considering all that had happened last night.  
>She glanced over at the clock and she couldn't stop herself from gasping. It was 1:30! PM!<br>"Bloody Merlin, Harry! Why did you let me sleep so long?" She exclaimed, angry at herself for wasting a good portion of the day.  
>"Hey, I was asleep longer than you! Plus you did only get 7 hours of sleep, and I don't wake up every two minutes and check the clock like a madperson!" He countered jokingly. It wasn't even that funny, but it got a brief giggle fit out of Hermione for some reason. Harry, well aware of his snide comment's stupidity, was a bit confused, but found her giggling, rare as it was, highly contagious.<br>"No, I suppose not." She said in between squeals of laughter.  
>"You know, it really wasn't that funny," He muttered, getting somewhat embarrassed, the color of his cheeks darkening.<br>"I know, you're just...cute," The moment she had let that last word slip, she knew there was nothing for it, so she braced herself for his reaction, looked down and flushed so dark he actually got quite concerned. Though, realizing it was all good-natured, he loosened up a bit and continued to make her blush further.  
>"Cute, am I?" He teased while failing in suppressing a chuckle.<br>"Shove off," She muttered darkly, still the color of a tomato. His face grew into a giant smile and he didn't exactly think before quickly blurting something out.  
>"You are too," He, unlike her had immediately caught it and brushed it off by adding, "-serious, Hermione. Lighten up, I know you were only joking."<br>"O-right," Her eyes saddened for just a fraction of a second but she caught herself too soon for him to notice. She still couldn't seem to figure out why she had even had that thought in the first place.

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Ron's POV:

Oh, God, here he comes. Time to shine I guess.  
>"Look, mate, I'm really-" I started to say, but I was ready to jump off and yell at any moment in case he got really pissed off again.<br>"I'm sorry I overreacted like that." He just apologized. I can't believe he just apologized. I was about to ask him why he had to be so noble all the time, but the voice in the back of my head that sounded a hell of a lot like Ginny told me it'd be tactless, so what came out instead was really pathetic.  
>"Oh." I can't even believe I just said that. How stupid must I sound? "Why? I mean, I know what I did was wrong but not, you know...beating me to a pulp wrong."<br>"No. Not what you did. But what it caused was. Her." He was really starting to confuse me.  
>"What?" I must sound really thick.<br>"She cried for over a month. She was inconsolable. She wanted you back. Yeah, she was angry you left, but she was more heartbroken than anything. She thought you hated her. You have no clue what she's been through-what we've been through since you left, Ron. I've forgiven you for leaving-I did a long time ago, but I'm not sure I'll ever be able to get past how much you hurt Hermione."  
>Damn, I feel like a real prat now. I guess you could say I just got owned.<br>"I...I really hurt her that bad?" I asked him, feeling a bit sheepish. He just nodded. "I'll go apologize. I'm really sorry, mate. I didn't know." He just nodded again, but I knew what I had to do.

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"Hermione, I'm really sorry. Harry told me how much I hurt you, and I just...couldn't not apologize, so...sorry." I said, holding my breath and gathering up all my courage.  
>"That's OK. I understand, you were just upset. I told you already, it's OK." She told me, still looking cautious, like I was going to backstab her again.<br>"Thanks." I said, and I made myself smile. I sort of opened my arms a bit and moved closer to try and let her know I wanted to give her a hug (and maybe a bit more, but I knew she and Harry had probably gotten together while I was gone), and it took her a while to process it. She hugged me quickly, and then sped off, looking real confused. I really am sorry.

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Harry, Ron and Hermione had long-since informed Bill of their leave and the strict "no-goodbye" policy there were functioning on, and were currently just waking up, not that any of them (well, Ron had) had gotten exactly a peaceful rest. The sleeping arrangements hadn't changed much from that night where Hermione had finally let herself crack, and she still needed someone within a ten-yard parameter of her to actually go to sleep at all. So, Harry and Ron would take turns on the couch next to her bed, though Ron would occasionally wake up and leave, causing Hermione to (very embarrassed to do so) have to knock softly on Harry's bedroom door until he heard her mouse-knocks and gave her the bed. Once or twice, she had refused and they had ended up on opposite sides of the same bed.  
>That night was one of them. Except this time, in their unease, both of them had shifted drastically in their half-sleep, and had woken up within half a foot of each other. Harry had his head curled up, which was knocking his glasses (which he had fallen into a, blessfully, deep sleep still wearing) into a strange position, his hair facing her. Hermione, who was slightly shorter and a bit deeper into the covers (and in her sleep) than Harry was at the same height he was at the moment, her hand resting on top of his, the end of her toes skimming his pajama-clad leg, both of their breathing slow and peaceful.<br>After around forty-five minutes asleep in that position, Harry began to stir, causing his glasses to be even ever more danger of breaking, and accidentally forcing Hermione awake. He realized their positions a moment before she was fully awake and began to slide away but she woke enough to see.  
>"Morning." She murmured groggily, stretching a bit and checking the clock. "C'mon, we need to start getting up...oh!-" She had only just seemed to process the position they had fallen asleep in. She apologized quickly and moved away from him.<br>"S'Okay," he said thickly, still half-asleep. "C'mon," Gulping, knowing what they had to do, she pulled herself out of the bed and walked to the kitchen, ready to break into Gringott's.

Well, what d'ya think? I know it's not much of a chapter, but might not be updating for a bit, so...I whipped up this before I get buried in my homework again. Again, not THAT much Harry and Hermione action, but they almost had a moment there. That might be my last update for a bit, but I'll shoot for over the weekend. Thanks for reading and **PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!**


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